SYDNEY: Australia have reportedly chosen their new cricket coach following the explosive fallout to March’s ball tampering controversy which saw Darren Lehmann resign.

The 105-Test veteran, who was always a fan favourite to take on the country’s top job, reportedly won the race against former team-mates Ricky Ponting and Jason Gillespie, who were also high on the list of potential suitors.

Langer, who has enjoyed a mountain of success at the helm of the Perth Scorchers in Australia’s Big Bash League, will reportedly be officially announced as Lehmann’s successor at a Cricket Australia board meeting this Friday.

It is still unclear if Langer will be taking on the head coaching role for Australia in all three formats as Lehmann did.

Calls for a complete overhaul of Australia’s team culture following the Cape Town ball tampering mess ran like wildfire following Lehmann’s teary resignation.

The former Aussie batsman, who coached Australia to a historic Ashes whitewash in 2013-14, was set to resign in the following year.

Cricket Australia released a statement soon after Langer’s face hit the headlines, claiming it hadn’t yet made a decision.

“The process to be undertaken for the appointment of a new Australian men’s head coach will be discussed and agreed at the CA board meeting this Friday,” the statement read.

“No appointment has been made, and nor will any candidate be put to the board for ratification on Friday. We expect to have a clearer understanding of the approach and appointment timelines following this meeting.”

Most recently, Langer has been coaching Western Australia and Perth Scorchers.

Langer did take charge of the team on an interim basis while former coach Lehmann was away in 2016.

Published in Dawn, April 19th, 2018